Taking winter weather into account, Springfield Clinic’s drive-up lab has relocated to the former U.S. Bank building at 701 S. Sixth St., effective Oct. 26.
“Springfield Clinic set up drive-up lab services to help reduce the number of times patients would need to enter the buildings for routine lab visits,” Tom Fitch, senior director of facilities, told SBJ in September. Since April, routine lab services have been offered in the parking lot of the main campus at 1227 S. Seventh St,
“It became apparent that patients were very fond of the drive-up lab,” said Fitch. “Going into winter, we wanted to pivot and accommodate patients.”
Springfield Clinic identified two properties to provide permanent structures for the drive-up labs. The first location, 3040 Hamlin Parkway, is located behind West Wabash Springfield Clinic and opened Sept. 14.
Prior to COVID, Springfield Clinic had already purchased the former US Bank building and was in the process of rezoning it for medical use. The existing drive-through lanes were closed in with garage doors and walls.
The new drive-up lab location provides four drive-up bays for patients to pull their car into and is designed to shelter them from the elements while they receive care. Both routine blood draw lab services (including those that require fasting) and flu shots will be available at this location.
Fitch explained, “There are projects in various stages of planning, and we’re looking at how we can incorporate these drive-up labs as permanent in future projects. We’re always looking for ways to be flexible to meet patient needs. We know health care isn’t one-size-fits-all.”
